MESSAGE

FROM THE

WORD

WHY THE VIRGIN BIRTH IS ESSENTIAL

Luke 1:26-38; Matt. 1:18-25

SERIES:  Advent 2006

Message # 2

            It is hard to believe that a year has gone by since the film “The DaVinci Code” was released.  A political thriller with a religious twist, the film pretended to be an accurate portrayal of a secret organization called the Knights Templar who had been given the responsibility of guarding the Holy Grail.  Most people believed the Holy Grail to be the cup which Jesus drank from at the Last Supper.  In fact, according to the film, the Holy Grail was really the fact that Mary Madeline was married to Jesus, had several children by Him, sat next to Him at the Last Supper, and fled to France with the children after the crucifixion, and His descendants are still alive today.

            As far as political thrillers go, “The DaVinci Code” is a fun read.  However, it missed out on some really important issues.  Let me give you three.  First, its historical portrayal of the Council of Nicaea is just simply false.  Second, its acceptance of minor historical documents and rejection of major reliable historical evidence leads to major historical fallacies.  Third, rejecting the Bible claims that Jesus arose from the dead, renders Jesus as simply another religious leader.  Jesus is only important because He was different than every other religious leader.  Jesus did not come primarily to create another religion, teach great truths, or minister to the needy.  Jesus Himself answered the question as to why He came.  Luke writes         LUKE 19:10            Jesus came, not to have children, but to save humanity from sin.

            There is only one problem, in order for Jesus to save humanity from the consequences of sin; He had to be a perfect sacrifice.  Being a good human being, even being the best human ever, could not be enough.  Jesus had to be perfect.  In other words, Jesus could not have a sin nature.  Since every human who has ever lived has had a sin nature, God had to device a plan to have a perfect human being.  He had to be someone who was totally human, but at the same time did not have a sin nature.  God’s plan is referred to as the Virgin Birth. 

            The intellectual and secular community mocks much of the Bible.  The parting of the Red Sea, a seven day creation, Jonah and the whale, the resurrection and return of Christ are just a few of the Bible stories not taken seriously by our elites.  None is more mocked than is the Virgin Birth.  For this reason, I want to look at why this doctrine is so critical for the church.  The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ is probably the most important issue in the church.  The inspiration of the Bible, resurrection, and return of Christ are all essential, but apart from the Virgin Birth, they are all meaningless.  That is a bold statement and I hope to be able to demonstrate its truth today.  As we look into God’s word, we will look at four aspects of the Virgin birth.

            FIRST, WE SEE THE NECESSITY OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH.  There are many individuals who came and began religious movements.  Some saw their religion die when they did.  A few saw their ideas continue on and become significant movements in the world.  Mohammad, Buddha, Joseph Smith, and L. Ron Hubbard are a few of those individuals.  If “The DaVinci Code” is correct, then Jesus can be added to that list.  He is simply a man who taught some interesting ideas and those ideas were picked up and passed on to others throughout the years.  There is a problem with that idea.  If Jesus was simply a teacher passing on nice ideas, then His teachings are bizarre.  He taught that no one could come to God unless He first approved.  He taught that in the after life He would be sitting on an equal plane with God.  He taught that God and He were of one essence.  If He is simply a man, He was a lunatic.  Jesus either has to be discounted, or He must be acknowledged as different from all other religious leaders.

            Before we show why it was necessary, let’s read the story.  It is found in both the gospels of Luke and of Matthew.  We read              LUKE 1:26-38; MATTHEW   1:18-25            In order to understand the Virgin Birth, we must understand what the Bible teaches about the nature of Jesus Christ.  There are many passages to look at, but let me just pick one.  Paul writes                   COLOSSIANS 2:9             That verse is one of the most important verses in the Bible, because it tells us that everything that makes God to be God was in Jesus Christ.  In other words, Jesus was not just a man, but He was also God made flesh.  Jesus Christ was God in human form.  If that is not true, then Christianity is a hoax.  If that is true, then we must try to understand how this could be.  Because it is difficult to understand, does not mean it is untrue.

            For Jesus to be God in the flesh, He must be both God and man.  Let’s see how this is possible.  If you look at both of the gospels which present the Virgin Birth, there is another similarity in their make-up.  They both have genealogies.  Matthew traces the genealogy of Joseph and Luke traces the genealogy of Mary.  There are probably no passages in the Bible that are more boring for us to read than the genealogies.  We read the first line and ask “Who cares who begat who”?  The truth is God does.  God had set up a system where certain requirements had to be met to be able to serve in certain ministries.  In order to serve as a priest, you had to prove that you were of the tribe of Levi.  God also gave requirements for the Messianic line.  The Messiah could be identified because of His linage.  If you follow the linage of Joseph, you will see His royal line.  The Messiah had to be a descendent of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and Solomon.  If this was not provable, then a claim to be Messiah had to be rejected.  Here is an interesting historical note.  The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans and with it all of the genealogical records.  The last individual who made a claim to be Messiah and could prove his claim to be in the Messianic line was Jesus.  No present Jew can prove his linage.

            Luke’s genealogy is found in Luke 3 and follows the linage of Mary.  Mary’s linage is very interesting.  It also goes through David and Abraham.  However, it does not stop at Abraham; it goes all the way back to Adam.  In other words, Mary traces her linage back to the beginning of the human race.  Matthew traces the linage to David and Abraham to show His royal linage.  Luke traces His linage back to Adam to show that He would be a human.

            How can the Messiah be both divine and human?  He must have a human linage, but in order to be the Messiah, He cannot have a sin nature.  How can that happen?  He has to have a human mother and a divine Father.  That is exactly what took place in the Virgin Birth.  Did you notice how both Matthew and Luke handled Joseph’s role in the birth of Jesus?  We read                       MATTHEW 1:16; LUKE 3:23         Joseph is not referred to as the Father of Jesus because he wasn’t.  In reality, Joseph is the adopted father of Jesus, but His genetic father is God Himself.  That is what the angel was saying.  He has the human DNA of Mary and is therefore human.  He has the divine DNA of God and therefore does not have a sin nature.  That is why He did not sin and could then be a perfect sacrifice on the cross.

            SECOND, WE SEE THE EXPLANATION OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH.  We do not know how old the holy couple was.  Jewish maidens usually married as soon as they reached child bearing age.  Men were older because they had to prepare a career.  Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac who was forty years old.  Joseph would have had to have been old enough to provide for a family.

            The story is very simple.  We read             MATTHEW 1:18         Luke goes and expands on this thought.  However, it is amazing that Matthew does not begin by writing “I HAVE A STORY TO TELL YOU AND YOU WILL PROBABLY NOT BELIEVE IT”.  Here is why I believe Matthew does not do that.  His gospel is not written after the birth of Jesus, but after His resurrection.  After Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected, the Virgin Birth wasn’t hard to believe.  If you have seen a man heal the sick, raise the dead, control nature, walk on water, and come back from the dead, is believing that He was procreated by God so difficult to understand?  We read           ISAIAH 9:6            The child will be “…MIGHTY GOD, ETERNAL FATHER…”  Once that verse becomes clear, the Virgin Birth becomes understandable.

            THIRD, WE SEE THE PROBLEM WITH THE VIRGIN BIRTH.  Obviously there are issues with believing this doctrine.  It had never happened before and it has not happened since.  I want to deal with this issue in our final point.  Here, I want to deal with the problems that Mary and Joseph would have had to deal with.

            First, Mary was morally pure.  The government announced this past week that 40% of the children born last year were born to unwed mothers.  Moral purity is not a big issue in our culture.  It was a big issue at the time of Mary and Joseph.  In fact, one of the reasons the engagement lasted from nine months to a year was so that the bride could prove she was a virgin.  An engagement was a binding contract.  In our culture, 1/3 of those who get engaged end up breaking up.  In the first century, the engagement was a part of the wedding process.  To break off an engagement required a divorce.  When the angel told Mary what was to take place, she understood the consequences.  She would be branded a wayward woman.  In order to obey God, she was willing to have her reputation sullied.

            Second, Joseph was a just man.  This is one of the great stories in the Bible.  For whatever reason, Mary always seems to take top billing.  However, Joseph was essential to the story.  When it was announced that Mary was having a baby, it must have broken his heart.  Here was this beautiful, godly young woman, and she had betrayed their vows to each other.  I am sure that people reacted as if he was the father, his protests aside.  However, he knew the truth.  His options?  He could have had her stoned.  Or, he could have done what he thought was right.  We read          MATTHEW 1:19           Did you notice that this plan to divorce her was the action of a righteous man?  He did not want to harm her, or shame her.  That is good advice for husbands today.

            Third, culture can be very unforgiving.  God took care of this problem.  You will remember that Mary was sent to visit her relative, Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist.  When Mary entered the presence of Elizabeth, her baby began to jump in the womb.  Elizabeth confirmed what Mary already knew.

            FOURTH, WE SEE THE BIBLICAL PROOF FOR THE VIRGIN BIRTH.  If the Virgin Birth is a reality, then the Bible should talk about it.  Obviously, it does.  We read ISAIAH 7:14            This is the passage Gabriel used when he talked to Mary.  Beyond this passage, there are dozens of passages that link the Father and the Son.  We have given this idea the term of the Trinity.  I do not claim to understand this concept; I only need to believe it.  The Biblical word I like was seen in Colossians when Paul wrote about “THE FULNESS OF THE GODHEAD…”  Let me give you several passages from the Old Testament that show this idea of “THE GODHEAD”; that Jesus and the Father are linked in a unity.

            From Isaiah chapter 40 to 48, God talks about Himself and how He is exclusive.  Let me give you just a sample.  We read          ISAIAH 43:10-13; 44:6; 45:5, 6, 18; 46:10                             That seems pretty clear.  Jehovah Himself says that He is God and there is no other God.  Obviously, the Bible understands that there are false gods, and humans who claimed to be god.  However, there is only one true God and it is the God of the Bible.  Jesus came along and made a remarkable claim.  It was the claim that angered the religious leaders so greatly.  We read       John 8:53-59                What was the problem?  That God who said He was the “I AM” in Isaiah, Jesus claimed to be Him.  I have talked to people who say this is not what Jesus claimed.  The Pharisees thought He claimed it.  That is why they picked up stones to kill Him.  If He was not claiming to be God, He would have stopped and said, “my friends, you have misunderstood what I said”.  In addition, John goes on to say             JOHN 5; 15-18        That is pretty clear.  Jesus was claiming to be the God of the Old Testament.

            The most important passage in the Old Testament is called “THE SHEMAH”.  It is quoted every Sabbath in Synagogues around the world.  We read            DEUT. 6:4, 5, 13-15           The people of God are commanded to worship only Jehovah.  We read               Hebrews 1:6        God is speaking and He commands the angels to worship the Son.  How can this be?  Because Jesus is the Son is God.

            There are many passages in the Old Testament that are applied to Jesus.  Let me give you just one.  We saw in Isaiah that God claimed He was the only God.  We read     ISAIAH 45:21-23              Every knee will bow only to Jehovah.  Paul wrote PHILIPPIANS 2:9-11            What must we conclude?  We must conclude with Thomas.  We read              JOHN 20:24-29              The nature of the wording is even more graphic.  He is saying, “YOU ARE THE GOD OF ME…”  There is no question.  If this statement was not true, Jesus would have rebuked Thomas.

            The virgin birth does present problems for the believer.  It goes against everything we know of being a human.  Since it is only a one time occurrence, it cannot be repeated or scientifically proven.  That is not a problem.  Many truths cannot be scientifically proven.  It cannot be scientifically proven that George Washington was president.  That is an historical event that can be proven historically.  It is the same with Jesus.  Some might come to you and mock you for believing the virgin birth.  They might even say they know someone who was also born of a virgin.  There is a very easy answer to that claim.  Does this person have a perfect life, can they heal the sick and raise the dead, and will they come back to life after their funeral? 

            Some have tried to make this teaching optional for the Christian faith.  It can’t be.  If the virgin birth is a myth, Jesus is just another man who died for something He believed in.  For Jesus to be an acceptable offering to God for the sins of the world, He had to be perfect.  He can only be perfect if He doesn’t have a sin nature and that can only be true if He is God in the flesh.

            The best way to understand this doctrine is not to ask, “how could it happen”?  The best way is to look at the life of Jesus Christ and understand, “was there any other way”?  This truth is the heart of the Christmas story.  Without it, there is no Christmas.